ROME , Italy -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Police Wednesday arrested the suspected head of an Italian mafia murder squad following a two-day manhunt after he eluded police by crawling through sewer pipes , according to Italian media reports .

Italian police examine a sewer that may have offered an escape route for a suspected mafia boss .

Giuseppe Setola , 38 , was arrested near Caserta north of Naples , according to Italy 's state-run ANSA news agency and reports in the La Repubblica and Corriere Della Sera newspapers .

`` This is a great moment for the -LRB- Italian -RRB- state , '' Naples anti-Mafia prosecutor Franco Roberti told ANSA after Setola 's arrest .

`` We were certain -LRB- Setola -RRB- was in a situation of great difficulty . We promised all the citizens that he would be caught . We have kept that promise . ''

Setola is believed to have slipped into a tunnel built under his hideout near Naples on Monday , as police closed in on him , according to the reports .

That tunnel connects to the sewer system in Caserta . Corriere published photos of anti-mafia police searching through what was described as Setola 's trash-strewn bunker and the tunnel .

Anti-mafia police have been searching for Setola for months , and had already arrested his wife and two suspected members of his crew , according to the reports . Monday was the third time he avoided arrest .

Setola is allegedly the head of a killing team run by the powerful Casalesi clan which belongs to the Neapolitan mafia known as Camorra . He got out of jail last spring after a doctor ruled that he was legally blind . Prosecutors have opened an investigation into that ruling .

Corriere published a photo of Setola wearing sunglasses with his left eye bandaged .

The Casalesi clan is featured in the best-selling book `` Gomorrah '' -- a play on the word `` Camorra '' -- written by Roberto Saviano who now lives under constant police protection . Saviano recently said he may have to leave Italy to escape constant death threats from the mafia and its supporters .

Police began cracking down on Setola and his colleagues after the murder of six West African immigrants in the nearby town of Castel Volturno in September . After those killings , the Italian government activated the army to help bolster efforts against the Casalesi clan , which is believed to have killed more than 20 people since May .

The two suspected members of his squad have given police information about his movements .

In November , police arrested an Italian police officer suspected of informing Setola about police operations .

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Italian mafia suspect arrested after escape through sewer pipes

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Setola is allegedly head of killing team run by the powerful Casalesi clan

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Tunnel found connecting to sewer system in the nearby town of Caserta